Infinite Stratos - Volume 7, page 7
"Do it seriously! Really..."
After that, Tatenashi never said anything strange to tease Houki. About 2 minutes later, the checkup was complete.
"Then, I'll send the data to [Akatsubaki]. There will be a certain level of auto-adjustments, but you have to do the rest yourself...oh yeah. I'll explain those things to you before the tournament starts, okay?"
"Mn, okay. I don't have a reason to refuse."
"Fufu, Houki-chan, you're cute when you're being honest, you know?"
"Pl-Please stop teasing me! The-Then, I'll say goodbye for today."
"Mn. Good job."
After leaving the checkup room, Houki had an inexplicable feeling.
(Why is it...that I don't hate her for saying that...)
Normally speaking...if it were someone else, she would resist that person no matter what.
But for some reason, she accepted Tatenashi's words.
This inexplicable feeling wasn't something she was unhappy about. Engulfed in this emotion, Houki walked to the bathroom in a good mood.
◆
"..."
Tatenashi was still in the checkup room.
Opening several display screens to compare the data, her expression became extremely serious.
(What's going on...)
On the left side, Houki's personal biometrics from when she entered the Academy were displayed. Her physical ability was top-notch like now, but the most important 'IS compatibility' was rated at C
"..."
Tatenashi then turned to the display screen on the right side. It's the latest biometrics she just got, and over there, the 'IS compatibility' was rated with the letter S
(The biggest factor in the compatibility was that the pilot had to be born with it. Of course, the compatibility would naturally increase through training and synchronizing with the IS...)
But improving from C to S in such a short time was completely unheard of. Of course, there was no such record in any open library.
(The only ones who have the IS compatibility S are people like 'Brunhild' who won the Mondo Grosso, and the Valkyrias who won the group stages...)
In terms of compatibility, Houki was equal to the five strongest pilots in the world.
This sort of thing shouldn't be possible at all—logically, it should be like that.
(If that's the case, the key is...)
Related to that peerless genius, Shinonono Tabane. It should be correct if I think of it like that.
"..."
Tatenashi again gazed at the screen seriously. A sharp glint could be seen from the eyes that belonged to the Sarashikis.
◆
"Let's go to the cafeteria, Kanzashi-san."
"..."
After hearing from a certain information network that buns were sold out at the shop today, I ran into Class 4 when 4th period ended and grabbed Kanzashi's hand.
"It'll be my treat."
"No, no..."
Uu. Kanzashi curled up like a timid rabbit.
But there's no way back now. Either way, the deadline's 5pm today.
(Okay...)
I pulled Kanzashi away a little—or rather, forcefully.
"KYAAH!"
I lifted Kanzashi up and carried her,
Anyway, it's the Princess Cradle.
"Kanzashi-san, you're so light."
"Shu-Shut up...let-let me down..."
"Then, hang on tight."
"!?"
I ignored Kanzashi's protests and ran to the cafeteria.
On the way, I passed by a few girls who screamed in shock, but I ignored them.
I went down to the first level, out of the corridor, and opened the door of the cafeteria that was formed by three areas.
"WE'RE HERE!"
*BAM!* The door was opened loudly, and I was really loud. Because of these reasons, there were a lot of 'What just happened?' looks directed at me.
"Let go..., ..."
*PAK!* *PAK!* *PAK!* My head got hit many times.
Using this chance, Kanzashi started to get violent as she kicked me in the chin.
"Wa, idiot. Hey, stop fooling around!"
"Uu...! Uuu...!"
"I can see your panties."
"!?"
Perhaps realizing her actions after I pointed this fact out, Kanzashi, who had been struggling up till now, gradually reduced her movements, and soon became obedient.
"...-forgivable...unforgivable...unforgivable..."
Kanzashi didn't look at me, but bit her lips tightly as she muttered.
I put Kanzashi down while she was still like this, and to prevent her from running away, I pulled her hand and queued up at the counter.
"Today's set meal of the day is Tartar Fried Chicken. What do you want, Kanzashi?"
"..."
"Okay. Kanzashi will have a large pork chop curry rice."
"...Meat, I don't like it..."
Ohh, I finally got a response. Maybe this can do.
"The-Then how about the Seafood Rice Bowl?"
"U...Udon..."
"Hm?"
Kanzashi continued to squirm, and she looked at me for a moment, murmuring.
"Just udon will do..."
"Got it. Want some eggs?"
"..."
*Shake*...Kanzashi shook her head.
"But, I want...Kakiage..."[7C 3]
"Oh, Kakiage. Okay. It's good. Here."
"Uu, mn...it's nice..."
"Okay, I'll buy the tickets and get the meals. Go get some seats."
"Ah...the tables, inside there...they're...empty..."
"Oh, that's true...heh, Kanzashi-san's eyesight's really good."
"It-It's nothing...it's just normal..."
Just when I saw a skill that I didn't expect, our orders came out from the counter.
"Hn? If you have such good eyesight, why do you need glasses?"
"This, is a portable display."
"Heeh, I see."
"A holographic display's...really expensive."
"Is that so? Then, let's go to that table."
"..."
Mn mn. After nodding her head, Kanzashi followed me from behind.
On a side note, the cafeteria here's really big, so there's quite some distance to the seats inside. Because of that, most of them are empty. But since they're the seats where one can see the seas outside, they will be crowded if it's a bright sunny day that makes people happy.
(Today's weather's good too. Lucky!)
At the empty table, I sat opposite Kanzashi.
"Itadakimasu."
"I...Itadakimasu..."
On a side note, in the end, I ordered a Tartar Fried Chicken. The delicious Tartar sauce is irresistibly good. I smiled as I took a large bite out of it.
"..."
As for Kanzashi, she dipped the Kakiage on the udon down into the soup with chopsticks. Most likely, the bubbles that would come out from them would be what she was aiming for. I did feel that Kanzashi was like an excited kid as she continued to look at it innocently.
"Oh, you're the deep-fried sponge kakiage type. Watch out. Laura's of the crispy type. There'll be war once she sees it."
"...No...this, it is a full body bath..."
Oh, a new sect altogether. That was really disrespectful.
Anyway, Kanzashi and I continued with our lunch.
"Even so, the Tartar Fried Chicken today that's fresh out of the fire's really great. Want some, Kanzashi?"
"Huh...?"
Kanzashi raised her head in shock, and I used my chopsticks to pick the Tartar chicken and brought it to her mouth.
"..."
She looked at it blankly, and then saw my face. Kanzashi then lowered her head.
Maybe it was just my imagination, but her ears seemed to be blushing.
"If-If that's...so..."
"Hm?"
"Do you...conquer[7C 4] girls like that...?"
"Huh?"
Throw down[7C 5]? I did carry girls up, but I do let them land properly. I don't think I threw them down once.
"I don't understand. Oh well. Try it,...ah, but you hate meat, right?"
"Erm...it's alright, if it's chicken..."
"Is that so? Great. Then...ahh."
"Ahh...n..."
Feeling somewhat timid, Kanzashi bit onto the Tartar chicken.
One entire piece of chicken was too big for Kanzashi's mouth, and so there was about half of it left on the chopsticks.
"..."
Seeing Kanzashi chew on, I finished off the remaining piece of chicken.
"Well, it's really good."
"!?!?"
It was like she was suddenly shocked when she was about to swallow, Kanzashi patted her throat a few times and hurriedly drank a gulp of water from her cup.
"Haa...haa...haa..."
"Wha-What's wrong? Are you alright?"
"Ah!"
Kanzashi's breathing wasn't in sync yet, but she glared at me sharply. It felt like she was protesting at me or something.
"Well, Kanzashi-san."
"..."
"Can you share some of that delicious looking Kakiage with me?"
On seeing the part that was bitten and tasted, I thought she would give me some of it.
"No-No way!!"
She forcefully refused me, even lifting her bowl up and moving away from me.
"Ah, sorry. I didn't know you liked it that much."
"I-I...won't give this to you..."
It's just Kakiage. No need to be so serious.
"...!!"
Kanzashi seemed to detect something, as she suddenly dropped chilli peppers into my rice.
"GYAAHHHH!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?"
"..."
She turned 90 degrees to the side from where I was seeing her, seemingly saying 'Who cares about you'.
*Chiu* *chiu* *chiu* *chiu* *chiu* *chiu*... she continued to slurp the udon silently.
"Wha-What do I do now. This..."
Seeing the red-dashed rice, I swallowed my saliva.
Is this the famous Calvary hill[7C 6]?... No no no, this isn't the time for jokes.
"It's not that I can't eat it. It's not that I can't eat it..."
If that's the case, I have to eat it.
"It's not that I can't eat it! It's not that I can't eat it!"
*GANK!* I picked up the bowl and scooped up the rice into my mouth with the chopsticks.
My gung-ho, or rather, brave act now raised applause from around me—however.
"HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!"
I could feel my tongue expanding crazily.
My tongue felt like it got ripped off instead of burnt. Water, miso soup. Tartar sauce, I can't even taste anything now.
"Ka-Kan-Kanzashi-san...that's too..."
Tilting her head slightly as she watched me suffer and stutter, Kanzashi said quietly from those thin and even lips.
"Serves you right."
Such cruel words, and an even crueller voice. But at that moment, even if it was for just a moment, Kanzashi smiled.
◆
"...And so, the most important aspects in battle are 'weight', 'speed' and 'mobility'. These three aspects take up a large ratio..."
Fifth period, Class 1-4. Kanzashi listened quietly to the lesson material at the last row.
Actually, it was more like she was leaving it to deaf ears, but that wasn't a problem since the information was in her mind already. Even if she was asked to answer now, she could read it out as if she was reciting it.
--However, that wasn't the main problem.
The main problem was what happened between her and Ichika in the cafeteria during lunch break.
"..."
Rewinding time back.
The scene was when Ichika fed Kanzashi 'Here, ahh', and ate the rest himself.
(Tha-That's not just it...in-in-indirect...kiss...he, even did that...)
And from Ichika's reaction, it didn't look like he hated it.
If he were lying, Kanzashi's instincts would have told her that.
However, Ichika just looked happy in front of her.
"..."
Feeling that she was blushing, Kanzashi hurriedly buried her face into her textbook.
(An-And then...after that...my food...he-he even wanted to eat it...)
*Gushuu~*...like heat smoking out, Kanzashi's heart got dominated with shame.
(Uu...uuuu...?)
She couldn't understand. She couldn't understand. She couldn't understand.
She couldn't understand him. She couldn't understand his intentions
--And also, she couldn't understand anything about her own heart.
(Wh-What...do I want to do. Ah...? What...will happen to me...?)
Beginning to lose control of herself since she was unable to calm down, Kanzashi began to feel restless as she shook her petite body.
(That thing...on the first time...I don't understand...at all...)
Again, she suddenly remembered Ichika's smiling face.
(A...u...)
Kanzashi held back in order not to let that strange sound out as she was pinching her thigh viciously.
«If you don't understand, shouldn't you try it?»
(Huh...?)
She heard Ichika's voice, and soon lifted her head. She shook her head lightly and looked around.
«Pair up with me, Kanzashi-san.»
(No, no...)
«Why?»
(Be-Because...I don't...I don't understand...I...I, hate things that I don't understand...)
«But if this keeps up, you won't understand anything in the end, right?»
(Even though...it's like that...)
«There's nothing to be afraid of. Just leave it to me.»
(Ahh...uu...)
They were like the lines that appear in the usual hero anime. But these felt better than anything else.
"Hey, pair up with me, Kanzashi."
"O-Okay!"
Kanzashi grabbed Ichika's hand that was stretched out in front of her.
Abnormally excited, Kanzashi stood up forcefully the moment she grabbed the hand.
(...H-uh?)
She suddenly realized it.
The orange sunset shone in from the window outside. The classroom was empty, and the Ichika in her imagination continued to hold onto her hand without disappearing.
(What? ...What?...Whaat?)
Just when Kanzashi was confused, the Ichika in her imagination jumped up.
"I DID IIITTTTTT!!! You said that you wanted to pair up, right? Right!? That's great! Let's run to the staff room and apply for the tag-match team! Okay, *DON!*"
Kanzashi's hand was held tightly by Ichika, who rushed out of the room.
That powerful force that dragged her made Kanzashi realize that this is reality, and she felt her face blush because of the shameful feeling.
(I-In other words...I started spacing out from the 5th period...then until the 6th period...it's over. Orimura-kun's here...he invited me...I mixed up reality with my imagination...)
--This is bad!
Still thinking about this, her body reached the front of the staff room.
"Let's go in then."
"Wa-Wai—"
Wait. Before she could say that, Ichika's hand dragged her into the staff room.
As she was mindful of how her hand was held, Kanzashi signed without understanding what was going on.
"Okay! Let's work hard at the preparation room from today onwards!"
"We-Well..."
"We need to wear our IS when adjusting, and so we need our IS suits. I'll get changed then. See you at the preparation room!"
"Well, that..."
*Ta*, *ta* ,*ta*. Kanzashi's words couldn't catch up to Ichika's back who was running.
...But Ichika suddenly turned his head behind while running.
"Ah! Which preparation room?"
"The-The...second one!"
"Got it. See you later then!"
Seeing Ichika run off, Kanzashi realized that she had stretched her right hand out when she recovered.
--What did I do that for?
Thinking about this, she started to feel shy and hurriedly retracted her hand.
"..."
She again recalled what happened a few minutes ago.
She couldn't say 'Wait' when they entered the staff room.
--But was that really because she couldn't say it?
--Most likely, she was looking forward to this and 'Didn't say it', right?
"..."
*Gugugugugug*. She shook her head left and right.
But whether it's her mouth or her heart, she just couldn't say 'You're wrong'.
The sunset shone into the corridor. In the orange world, Kanzashi felt for the first time since birth, the sweet pain that gushed out from her chest.
◆
"Alright. Let's see Kanzashi-san's machine!"
In the second prep room, Kanzashi and I were together.
It's an elimination tag-team tournament for pilots with personal IS, but because of the high standard of this tournament, there were many students other than us who were tuning their machines too.
"I said, please send me the mobility data you got yesterday."
"I want to lighten my armaments. Can I make it if I do so now?"
"Wait! The Hyper Sensors base values are off! Who was the last one who tweaked it!?"
There was quite a ruckus. Since they're working together happily, there will be groups screeching all over the place, but everyone was tuning their IS seriously.
"Heh, that's the first time I'm seeing the upperclassmen with Personal ISes."
"Over there is...the 2nd year, Forte Sapphire-san...with her IS [Cold Blood]...opposite her is the 3rd year, Daryl Cayce-san and her [Hellhound V2.5]..."
I'm somewhat shocked by Kanzashi's smooth explanation.
She spoke so fluently, not stuttering and stopping like usual.
"And...behind is..."
"Ya...Cecilia..."
Standing over there was the representative cadet of England, Cecilia, piloting her IS [Blue Tears].
"Yes. I want to increase the output efficiency by tweaking the mobility."
"We can do that...but it'll be difficult to control the IS, you know? Of course, it won't be as safe."
"No problem. I won't lose in my next battle."
"Oh well. Let's try it. If the consequences are too severe, we'll just change it back to normal."
"You're right."
Cecilia continued to discuss with the 2nd and 3rd year girls who were most likely in the conditioning class.
Suddenly, she turned to look at me. Perhaps she noticed me.
"Humph!"
Her face darkened as she forcefully turned her face away. After I refused to participate in the tag match with her, Cecilia would treat me as an enemy no matter what.
